Nigeria wheat farmers have increased the forecast for the country’s wheat harvest for 2020/2021 by seven per cent on the back of availability of improved seeds. Wheat is now projected to yield 450,000 metric tonnes, up from 420,000 metric tonnes produced by farmers in the last season, the President, Wheat Growers Association of Nigeria, Salim Muhammad, confirmed this to The PUNCH on Tuesday.

Under the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammad said, about 100,000 farmers would be given the necessary incentives to improve wheat production. After harvesting the wheat, he said the grains would be purchased by flour millers based on a Memorandum of Understanding already signed with them.

He said, “In total, we are thinking of cultivating over 150,000 hectares this season. Our projection for this season based on the test we conducted and available planting materials, we are expecting not less than three tonnes per hectare, meaning we are looking at 450,000 metric tonnes.”

Muhammad said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention through the Seed Multiplication Programme planned to support farmers in the cultivation of 80,000 hectares of farmland in order to make seed available for wheat cultivation.

According to him, the apex bank has procured improved wheat seeds from other countries for this purpose. He said the CBN would act as off-takers of the seeds and make them available to farmers in the next planting season.

“This season, the CBN has two programmes for wheat. The Seed Multiplication programme covers about 80,000 hectares and the programme is going specifically for wheat seed multiplication against next season,” Muhammad said.

“CBN will off-take whatever seeds have been produced and recirculate them in the next season for the farmers to plant.” He noted.